Doctoral candidate of aerospace engineering Jesse McTernan and his science partner Timothy Brubaker, a second-year graduate student in electrical engineering, spearheaded the experiment as part of Exploration-U: Bellefonte Family Science Night.

They allowed children to fill a film container with water, then drop a quarter of a piece of Alka Seltzer in it, close the lid, shake it up and then place it on the ground upside-down.

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Brubaker said it was their way of showing kids how they launch rockets, but in a safe and easy-to-understand method.

The Alka Seltzer created a “fizz reaction” that allowed the canister to expand from the pressure and burst, Brubaker said.

Exploration-U is a Penn State-run program through the Eberly College of Science that aims to get local youth interested in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.

“We target all kids, kindergarten to 12th grades,” said program director Michael Zeman. “We want to provide that level of experience that makes kids excited about STEM studies.”

Zeman said it encourages elementary school students to have fun with the sciences, lets the middle school students understand the content in a hands-on way, and can help form a STEM-related career path for high schoolers.

“We know the maths and sciences are hard, so putting it an interactive way they can understand might allow them to see these subjects as more enjoyable,” Zeman said.

This is the program’s fourth year and is held annually at the Bellefonte and State College area school districts.

This year, it included science stations run by more than 30 Penn State student groups, and about a dozen community organizations including Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center that showcased its wild animals.

“We have a different kind of education here,” said environmental education intern Travis Smith. “They might see me holding a snake and be intimidated, but we can help them conquer those fears by being an example to them and help them break through that fear.”